This outrageous blend of earthy beef with “spirited” brightness makes for a superb gastronomic experience. To help firefighters, Clare happily recommends purchasing a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon with the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund label. To see what this inspiring label looks like, visit the following Web site, where you can also learn more about the fund, named after one of the fallen heroes of 9/11: www.jimbeam.com/partnerships/terry-farrell-fund
Makes 2 servings
⅓ cup aged bourbon (Jim Beam in the Terry Farrell bottle!)
¼ cup cold strong coffee or espresso
4 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 T-bone, rib-eye, or shell steaks (2-3 pounds total)
Whisk together the bourbon, coffee, oil, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper and pour into a shallow dish or pan that is large enough to hold 2 steaks flat (single layer, no overlapping). Cover the dish, pan, or container with plastic wrap, and marinate the meat for 1 hour in the refrigerator, then flip and marinate for a second hour. Sauté the steaks in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare, or 7-8 minutes per side for medium well. You can also broil or grill them. Eat with joy!
Clare Cosi’s Crab Cakes There are two keys to good crab cakes: (1) keep the binders to a minimum so you can taste the meat, and (2) form the cakes a few hours before cooking so they can be chilled in the fridge, which will help them stay together during the cooking process. As for the meat, fresh lump crab meat from blue crabs will give you an authentic Maryland-style cake. But if you can’t get fresh, a good quality canned will certainly work, too. Clare likes to brush the chilled cakes with a beaten egg just before final breading and frying. This is certainly more of an Italian-style method of frying seafood than a traditional Maryland-style, but Clare believes this step adds a delicate layer of flavor while helping to keep the cakes together during cooking. For an accompaniment to this dish, try Clare’s Thai-Style Seafood Sauce (page 330) and her Sweet and Tangy Thai-Style Coleslaw (page 331).
Makes 8 crab cakes
5 eggs
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs (not panko)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
½ cup scallions, chopped (white and green parts)
1 teaspoon dry, ground, or powdered mustard (all are the same!)
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
1 pound Maryland blue crabmeat (or canned backfin or jumbo lump)
1 cup peanut or canola oil
½ cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs for coating)
Step 1 — Mix the crabmeat: Lightly beat 4 of the eggs in a mixing bowl, add the unseasoned bread crumbs, lemon juice, scallions, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Separate and flake the crabmeat. If the meat is fresh, make sure you pick through it carefully and remove any shell fragments. Add the crabmeat to your egg mixture and blend thoroughly.
Step 2 — Shape into cakes: Shape the crab mixture into 8 equal-sized balls, pat into cakes. Refrigerate uncooked crab cakes between two loose sheets of waxed paper for about 2 hours or up to 8. (The longer they chill, the easier they will be to handle.)
Step 3 — Finish with egg wash and breading: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lightly beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Remove the crabcakes from the fridge and lightly brush each one with the egg wash. Gently roll each cake lightly in the panko bread crumbs. Do this quickly so they do not lose their chill, and do it carefully so they do not fall apart.
Step 4 — Fry the cakes: Gently set each crabcake into the hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Turn with care, only once or twice during cooking. Serve with Clare’s Thai-Style Seafood Sauce on the side (recipe follows) or your favorite condiments or relishes.
Clare’s Thai-Style Seafood Sauce Makes about 1 cup
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Clare’s Thai Dipping Sauce (recipe on page 331)
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Clare’s Thai Dipping Sauce. Chill and serve with seafood. This is an especially good sauce to serve with boiled shrimp (in place of cocktail sauce). It’s also delicious with Clare’s Crab Cakes (see previous recipe).
Clare’s Sweet and Tangy Thai-Style Coleslaw Makes about 1 cup
½ medium to large head green cabbage, shredded (about 10 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled into strips (about ½ cup)
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Clare’s Thai Dipping Sauce, or to taste (recipe follows)
Salt, to taste (optional)
Place shredded cabbage and carrot peels in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise and dipping sauce. Fold the mayonnaise mixture into the bowl of shredded cabbage and blend well. Season with salt to taste. Chill and serve.
Clare’s Thai-Style Dipping Sauce This is the traditional recipe used as a dipping sauce for Thai spring rolls, but this tangy, sweet, and hot sauce is also great on salads, barbecued meats, or vegetable tempura.
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (about 9 or 10 cloves)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (or one mashed anchovy fillet or ¼ teaspoon anchovy paste)
2 teaspoons sambal oelek — Indonesian hot chile sauce (or add more to increase heat)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons finely grated or shredded carrots
